Longtime Painesville City Manager Rita McMahon to retire Nov. 1

By Max Reinhart

Wednesday, August 22, 2012

Painesville City Manager Rita McMahon is set to retire from that post on Nov. 1.

McMahon, who has held the position for 15 years, said she wants to take more time for herself and get reacquainted with her family, which has sometimes been difficult while working what she called a "24-hour-a-day job."

"It's never going to be a real good time (to leave)," she said. "This is a date I'd picked after looking at where I am and decided it made sense to me."

The city manager said she will continue to work in her normal capacity until November. She plans to remain an active member of the Painesville community into her retirement.

McMahon said she might eventually return to some line of work, though she has no immediate plans.

McMahon said it has been an honor working for and representing the city of Painesville. She thanked members of council, past and present, for supporting her ideas and said having a great staff throughout the city departments allowed the city to achieve much and made her job more enjoyable.

"There's always more to do, but we're heading in the right direction," she said.

Council President Joseph Hada called McMahon "a visionary" and said Painesville will miss her dedication, intelligence and leadership, which fostered economic development and helped moderize the city.

"I spoke with almost all the department heads and a lot of the employees today and it was unanimous: she will be truly, sorely missed," he said.

As per city charter, it will be up to city council to find McMahon's successor. An executive session to begin the process has been scheduled for Monday.

Hada said council expects to have an interim city manager, which may or may not be promoted from within, by the time McMahon officially steps down. Meanwhile, the city will search for a permanant successor.

"Given the process, by the end of the year we'll hopefully be greeting our new city manager," Hada said.